Part Of Life
by ArtemisKai
Summary: Around S7, Spike's return coincides with a mysterious drop in Sunnydale's demon population; if it couldn't get any more confusing for the Slayer, a sudden human transformation for Spike lands Buffy in for more than she bargained for.
1. The Start

DISCLAIMER: I own none of the people or places, please, I am not the talented. They all belong to Joss and Co. All hail them. PAIRING: S/B, some X/A hintings SPECIAL THANKS: To rubygoddes, who will undoubtedly be helping me loads.  
  
The night was cool, and there was a soft breeze blowing through the small town; it was just the sort of night you would expect to be quiet and calming. But the town was alive with people running from store to store, teens gathered in their cliques downtown, and a campus full of up and alert coeds bustling from building to building.  
  
There were other active inhabitants of the town out and about as well. They were the less heard from and talked about bunch, the ones that hid even with their abilities for dominance. They slithered in the shadows and crept along alleyways, keeping to themselves, until it came time to feed or fight.  
  
One person was out prowling the streets with the intentions of finding these hidden citizens however. She walked through the darkness where they congregated, carrying her air of confidence-and also her large bag of weapons in case the confidence failed and violence was called for.  
  
Buffy twirled her stake in her fingers out of boredom. In the last three nights the only one who had come in contact with the sharp wooden object was her. The monsters of Sunnydale were getting better at hiding as years went on-either that or she was just slacking off. Since her confidence, and more importantly pride, would not let her think the latter was true, Buffy set her mind to searching out one more moving shadow before retreating homeward.  
  
She stealthily made her was across the graveyard, slinking behind the tombstones and walking silently over piles of twigs and dried leaves. The shadow she was tracking made its way past mausoleums and through trees, disappearing once and again, but Buffy kept up with it. It finally stopped outside of one of the unnamed burial spots of a former Sunnydale resident and slowly opened the door and made its way inside.  
  
" Oh, must be long running Sunnydale moocher. Why can't they pay for houses like the living?" Buffy mumbled to herself as she watched the shadowy figure move about.  
  
The shadow made it way into the crypt, and Buffy began to follow when she realized suddenly who she'd been tracking. She looked at the mausoleum and the surrounding bush and landscape. It all seemed too familiar. She hadn't been here in over four months, but now she remembered it.  
  
Spike's crypt. That meant who she was following had been Spike.  
  
Buffy's breath caught in her throat for a moment. She hadn't been expecting to see him back so soon. In all honesty, she hadn't expected to see him ever again. She sighed and closed her eyes, feeling the urge to just sit down on the newly rained-on ground.  
  
She had to have known he would return sometime, but some part of her mind had refused to believe it as reality. That's why it was such a shock to her to have him back here-and coming to find out she has been chasing after him.  
  
A million thoughts all of a sudden raced through her mind, many possibilities and options. She didn't know weather to leave it alone and just let him find her in time, or to take the initiative and go to him. Preferably to take that time to introduce him to her newly fashioned stake. It had been seeing less action lately.  
  
She shook her head violently at the thought of something getting action. Those sort of thoughts only lead to bad places that her mind didn't need to be going. She was angry at Spike and she intended to stay that way until hell froze over-which on a Hellmouth it had every possibility of doing at any time. She needed to compare forgiving him to something with less likely chances of occurring..  
  
Buffy looked back up at the crypt, thinking on the idea of just walking away. She seemed to have done too much of that last year. All she had done was let things lie-then they had grown to mass proportions that just eventually blew up in her face. Now that she thought back on it, she really didn't want that to happen again. She was queen of handling things wrong, she just needed to handle it right for once.  
  
" Tomorrow will work, too," Buffy said as she abruptly turned away and started out of the cemetery and towards her home.  
  
Spike would still be there in all his platinum-haired, irritatingly British glory the next night, she could take out her anger on him then-as soon as she had vented most of it out on the punching bag she'd moved to her house.  
  
As Buffy walked away, she laughed to herself and seemed to break herself out of the trance she was in. Just because that was Spike's crypt, and a shadowy figure had just made its way into it, doesn't mean the figure had to be Spike. It was an abandoned home just waiting for some house-broken demon to settle down into it. Anything could have gone into it. And that's what she reminded herself all the way home, before slipping into thoughts of what had been going on here.  
  
The Magic Box was still in ruins, Willow was still off in England on her rehabilitation trip with Giles, Xander and Anya were barely talking, and Dawn was getting ideas about her being Buffy's partner-in-slaying. All was not right with the world, but then again, it rarely ever was.  
  
Buffy walked into her house, and yelled out that she was home. She was greeted by silence, but wasn't surprised. No one was ever home it seemed, not that she was going to openly complain to the populace about it or anything. She just missed them when they were gone, and lately had been understanding how Dawn had felt last year.  
  
She had thought, and hoped, that at the beginning of the summer things would start to change, get better. But nothing had really changed, not yet. Willow was gone, which was new, but she would be coming back, and they were all awaiting the day, and then just slowly fall back into place with each other, as they always did. Anya was off in her new vengeance lifestyle, mostly because the Magic Box was not on its feet yet and she wasn't going to stick around if she wasn't earning money. Xander was as busy as ever with construction, and only stopped by every once in a while, mostly to see if he was needed on patrol.  
  
But Buffy was pretty covered in the patrolling area; mostly because of her new little helper. Dawn had made it a point of coming along each night Buffy was about to leave the house. The first night, she had dressed all in black and bought walkie-talkies she thought would come in handy. While Buffy couldn't help thinking how adorable it had been, she had also been scared. She wanted to be more a part of Dawn's life, but she didn't want to endanger her sister.  
  
That's why Dawn was going through training. Nothing too hard or dangerous, just some standard defense moves that Buffy thought would help if they were ever outnumbered and Buffy couldn't watch Dawn closely. So far Dawn had twisted her ankle, gotten a black eye and a busted lip, but she was still enamored with the lifestyle. She wanted to be in all the action, and Buffy wasn't going to refuse her the chance. At least not yet.  
  
Just then the door burst open. Buffy's hand went to her belt, where she had her stake tucked in securely, and she whirled around-to see Dawn and a friend of hers giggling and walking in the door. Buffy quickly stashed the stake back in her pants, but happily, Dawn's friend hadn't noticed her.  
  
" Hey, Buffy!" Dawn exclaimed as she saw her sister standing in the living room. Dawn dragged her friend-a girl that looked around Dawn's age, but that didn't look quite as carefree and the Slayer's sister-through the door and right up to Buffy. " This is Bianca. We just met at school today."  
  
That explained why Buffy didn't recognize her. Buffy smiled and held her hand out to shake, however, inspecting Bianca thoroughly. No noticeable tattoos or piercings, other than in the ears. She wasn't all dyed and artificial like a few of the people Dawn had brought home with her. All around, she looked pretty good.  
  
" Hi, Bianca. I'm Buffy.as Dawn said. It's nice to meet you."  
  
Bianca nodded and smiled. " You too, Mrs. Summers," she said politely. " Hey, you work at the high school don't you? Counselor or something?"  
  
" Yeah, I just started.about the time you all started. And feel free to call me Buffy. Ms. Summers makes me sound old."  
  
Dawn rolled her eyes and began dragging Bianca away. " You are old." They started giggling and talking again and ran up the stairs. Buffy sighed and followed slowly after, but went on to her room once she reached the second floor hall.  
  
She changed out of her patrolling clothes, and into something more comfortable. All the time, she thought to herself, I'm not old. Just because she was now faculty instead of student didn't mean she was suddenly old. Like Mrs. Franklin, the English teacher the kids all swore was 90.  
  
Buffy sighed and rolled her eyes. The kids. Was she now doomed to be calling people only three years younger than her kids? She may have grown up fast, but she didn't suddenly become an old lady.  
  
Still, Buffy's level of pride and confidence slowly sank as she sat on her bed. She could do back flips and prevent apocalypses in high school, and still could, how many other teenagers could do that? Her mystical ancestors may have died early, meaning they never did get old.  
  
" Age is all in the mind. You're only as old as you feel," Buffy said to herself. " I feel..21." Buffy smiled to herself, deciding that she was not going to waste another night at home. It was only 10 and she still had the night before her.  
  
She quickly climbed back into the clothes she had just finished throwing on the floor, and went to Dawn's door and knocked. The music inside was blaring, and she could hear the two girls screaming along to the music. She pounded harder, and cringed when the wood cracked.  
  
That's when the door flew open. " What?" Dawn yelled over the pitch of the radio.  
  
" I'm going back out!" Buffy screamed back. " You two don't leave the house, okay?"  
  
Dawn quickly shut the door and came out into the hall. " Do you want me to come with?" she asked excitedly, her blue eyes shining, even through her one black shiner.  
  
" No, its okay, Dawn. You have a friend over, you two have fun."  
  
" Buffy, it's fine, I can ask Bianca to go home. Tell her it's a family thing, or whatever."  
  
" Uh.Dawn I don't know. I sort of wanted to move fast. There might not even be anything out, there hasn't been for a few nights."  
  
" That's perfect! I can come along, you can give me the scoop on the graveyards, you know, paths you take and things, and we might not even get to the bloody and violent battles. Hold on while I tell Bianca."  
  
" Dawn, that's." Dawn was back in her room, talking to Bianca before Buffy could stop her. It seemed only seconds before Dawn was rushing Bianca to the door and out onto the porch.  
  
Bianca walked down the steps, then turned back to Buffy. " Hey, I hope your friend is okay."  
  
Buffy looked at her in confusion, when she felt Dawn's elbow jam into her side. Suddenly she caught the lie, and sighed. " Yeah, I'm sure they'll be fine. Nothing major."  
  
" Well, getting hit by an ice cream truck isn't that great," she said, also looking bewildered.  
  
Buffy rolled her eyes and looked at Dawn, who shrugged. " Well, you know those wacko ice cream truck drivers, they're menaces behind the wheel. Hope to see you again, Bianca."  
  
" You too, Mrs. Summers," was all she said before walking hurriedly off.  
  
Buffy slowly turned to look at Dawn, raising her eyebrows. " An ice cream truck?"  
  
Dawn shrugged again and looked away. " I panicked." She looked at Buffy's still reprimanding stare, and held up her hands in defense. " Hey! You know me. I'm not good with the telling-of-lies."  
  
" You? Who lied to your sister and friends for months about your little klepto habit? Yes, however would you perfect your lying skills."  
  
" Okay, okay. So ice cream truck accident wasn't exactly my best lie. But it's better than the other idea I had."  
  
" Oh? What was that?" Buffy asked as they left the house.  
  
" That Xander fell over the fence at the zoo and was mauled by the lions."  
  
Buffy nodded and looked at Dawn. " Yeah, ice cream truck was good. Good choice."  
  
The two sisters made their way through the Sunnydale streets, and surprisingly to Buffy, headed right into the same cemetery she'd come from earlier. She looked at Dawn, wondering if she caught it, but Dawn was smiling perkily and looking around at the surroundings, like she'd never been there before.  
  
Then, she suddenly turned to Buffy, her smile gone. " This is Spike's cemetery."  
  
Buffy nodded slowly and looked over at Dawn. " I know. Maybe we should leave. Catch one of the other eleven cemeteries in Sunnydale."  
  
"No, Buffy, it's okay. I mean, its not like Spike is even here or anything. So we're good. Let's go kill something, k?"  
  
" My same thought, exactly."  
  
They prowled the graveyard for an hour, Dawn jumping and squealing at every snapped twig every rustle in the leaves. At one point, she grabbed Buffy and cowered behind her, only to stand up bravely when the noise she was scared by turned out to be a dog. Buffy repeatedly reminded herself that this was quality time with Dawn. It didn't count if by the end of the night, one or both of you didn't want to strangle the other slowly to death.  
  
That's about the time they ended up in front on the familiar crypt. It seemed like Buffy had only been standing here an hour ago, staring up at it. " That's right, I was," Buffy whispered.  
  
" What?" Dawn asked, not taking her eyes from the crypt.  
  
" Oh, nothing, I was just saying that maybe we should go home now. I mean, it's not like there's anyone there to."  
  
The crypt door opened suddenly, and a shadowy figure stood in the door. It was motionless for a few seconds, while Buffy was so still she could hear both hers and Dawn's hearts beat like drums. Then the figure moved, and a ray of moonlight caught its face.  
  
There was no mistaking the slightly hollow cheek bones, the hair that seemed whiter than snow in the direct light. Buffy had tried to convince herself that what had happened earlier, the figure she'd seen, could have been anyone, anything, and she had sort of succeeded. But now there was no mistaking the obvious. Spike was back. 


	2. Returns

( Note: I am totally unsure where I am going with this. I am just trying to make it sound good as of now. But please keep reading. PLEASE..okay, I'll stop my begging...oh after this. PLEASE! Now I'm done. Read on.)  
  
Buffy suddenly went numb all over, even her thoughts seemed to halt abruptly. Everything dissolved around her, and she could do nothing but stare straight ahead. Spike was standing on his doorstep, a box in his hands. He looked around anxiously several times before taking a hesitant step forward, and then continuing away from his crypt.  
  
Buffy watched him as he quickly and silently made his way across the graveyard, and then turned the corner out of sight. Long moments seemed to pass, what seemed like an eternity but what was in reality only seconds. Then everything came rushing back. Feeling and sounds and thoughts all burst back in on her consciousness. And the dull pain in her right arm came also.  
  
She looked over to see Dawn's pale-as-a-ghost face staring in the same direction Spike had gone. Her hand was clutching Buffy's arm, her nails cutting into her skin. Buffy gently reached out and took Dawn's hand, prying her fingers from Buffy's bruised arm. "It's okay, Dawn," she said quietly, not wanting to startle her sister.  
  
Dawn slowly shook herself, looking down at the ground in a trance-like stare, then up at her sister. Her eyes looked moist and her characteristic cheeriness seemed to have evaporated.  
  
" Was that..did I dream that?"  
  
" No," Buffy said gently. She had the distinct feeling that soon she was going to be needing this comfort from someone, but right now it distracted her to help Dawn.  
  
" Then he's back? Home? Or..our home, and he's in it?" Dawn was babbling, her eyes wide and her motions looking frantic.  
  
Buffy remained as calm as she could, smiling gently. " Dawn, just because he's.back, that doesn't mean he's going to come.back back. He does have a right to go where he wants, but you know I would never let him.do anything."  
  
Dawn's eyes widened more, if possible, and she once more clutched at Buffy's arm. " Do what? What would he do? Why we he do.what he would do." Dawn shook herself again, finally realizing she was babbling also.  
  
" Dawn, I'm sure he won't do anything. After he.after what happened, between us, I took you to his crypt, for him to look after you. I never would have done that if I didn't think he was safe for you to be around."  
  
Dawn looked at Buffy slightly shocked and disbelieving. " Safe? After what he did to you?"  
  
Buffy put her hand to Dawn's face trying to calm her, which was working not at all. When Buffy needed the calming herself, she wasn't exactly the one to be giving the comfort and rational talks right now.  
  
" Dawn, I can protect you, you know that. But I honestly don't believe you need it. Not from Spike. But if it makes you feel better.I can have Will--- "  
  
Buffy stopped herself. She was going to suggest recruiting Willow to do another de-invite on the house, but she had just remembered Willow was gone. Off with Giles. Not here to do spells, and even if she had been, Buffy wasn't sure she wanted her doing any ever again.  
  
Buffy looked back up at Dawn, who was waiting expectantly for an answer. " Xander and I can do the spell on the house. So Spike can't come in anymore without an invitation."  
  
Buffy was surprised by the look Dawn gave her. Her younger sister looked shocked and saddened by this announcement. Buffy was about to inquire as to what was causing this, but Dawn spoke up first. " You can't! Why would you do that? Spike.he did something awful, but Buffy, do you think we really need to?"  
  
Buffy stared at Dawn, her own expression one of shock. " Dawn, I was just proposing the un-invitation on our house because you seemed scared."  
  
" Scared of Spike? He would never hurt any-" Dawn stopped herself looking at Buffy. And for a long time they just stared at each other, their faces looking shocked and surprised. Dawn had forgotten for a moment the entire reason why Spike had left, why it was so jolting for him to suddenly be back, and why Buffy would think she could be afraid of him. But now she seemed to suddenly know exactly why, and felt her chest writhe in pity for her sister.  
  
" Buffy, I'm sorry. I didn't mean." Dawn trailed off, not knowing what to say. Here she had been anxious and excited over Spike's return, and Buffy was the one that had been the victim in the first place. The one that had been hurt, and was left be the comforter.  
  
" Dawn, its okay. You were.surprised, is all. Like I was. I didn't expect him to be back so.suddenly either. Not that it could have been any more gradual, but it still feels.not real."  
  
Dawn looked down at her hand, gripping tightly to Buffy's. she slowly eased her hold, and looked back to Buffy, whose stare was faraway and vacant. Too familiar. " Buffy? Are you okay?"  
  
Buffy didn't look back at Dawn, but turned away and started to walk. " I just don't know how to react to this," Buffy said, stopping near a tombstone and picking at the cement cross protruding from its top. " It was all so confusing before, and then he left. I was.not hurt, but surprised I guess. He didn't leave when I told him-order him to, not even when I was.gone. And then he just up and left over.this whole thing. I didn't know if he'd ever come back."  
  
Buffy turned to look at Dawn, who was now only showing pity on her expressions. Buffy smiled slightly, trying to lighten the mood. " I guess I'll just have to deal. Like I always do."  
  
Dawn hurried to agree, liking this more relaxed atmosphere than the one they'd been standing in only seconds before. " Yeah, Buffy. You can deal with it. And I'll be here," Dawn offered, raising her brows in questioning, trying to find if that was what Buffy wanted.  
  
Buffy's smile suddenly seemed more heartfelt. " Thanks, Dawn."  
  
The night was over for the two of them, and they silently agreed to go home and made their way through the cemetery that had just seconds ago seemed so full of adventure. Now it seemed as it should be: barren and lifeless.  
  
  
  
  
  
The next day they sat anxiously in the airport lounge, Xander and Anya sitting nearby. Anya looked bored and unattached to what was happening. Xander's legs were bouncing up and down like a kid about to be given an all access pass to a candy store. Dawn and Buffy sat close together, but not speaking. They had told no one of their news of last night. And when Willow had called this morning saying she was taking a plain home that afternoon, Buffy had thought it even less a top priority.  
  
Right now, all she could think of was what was to come. Willow has left only a day after she had tried to destroy the world. Giles had told her to gather her things, then they teleported to back to England, to Giles home. He called only twice the entire summer to inform them of Willow's condition, and even with two months of recovery time in between the calls, the report had barely changed.  
  
Willow had been as lifeless as one of the mental patients in a psychiatric ward; staring off into space when she did anything, sleeping most of the day away, barely eating or talking, and never openly talking about anything. Giles as well as the entire Scooby gang still in Sunnydale had been very worried, but she had eventually begun to heal.  
  
She began to speak more with Giles about her feelings revolving around Tara's death, and her own descent into the dark arts. She told him about the experience of taking a life and about the hatred she had felt. She began to act more lively when it came to everyday activities. Talking to him over meals and reading in her down time.  
  
All this Buffy had listened to apprehensively, just dreading him saying that she would never get better, or that it would take more than just a summer at his home. Buffy and Xander had each talked to him, learning also that not too long ago, Willow had met with the coven of witches Giles spoke about concerning her abilities and her privileges.  
  
As a punishment for taking a life using magic, she was prohibited from practicing for a year, then she would have to return to England for another meeting with the coven. Buffy was just looking forward to having her friend back. She didn't care about all of the other stuff, she just wanted to try and be happy again with everyone around her feeling the same way.  
  
The four had been sitting in the lounge for over an hour now, and most of that had been in complete silence. Anya finally broke it by exclaiming, " I have heard of the tradition of plains and trains and buses, things like that, never arriving on time. But is there a tradition of them not arriving within the same hour they were scheduled to arrive in? Because we are approaching that, and I for one am bored out of my skull."  
  
They all looked at Anya, who was sitting in her orange plastic chair as if it were lined with needles. " Maybe the plain just got going late," Dawn suggested.  
  
" Late. A bit of an understatement," Anya said with a roll of her eyes. " More like forgot to take off and then got lost in the big fluffy white things the idiot pilots forgot were clouds."  
  
" Anya, I'm sure the plain will arrive soon," Buffy assured her, and Dawn who was looking slightly nervous. " They should be here any-" A voice suddenly came out over the speakers announcing that plain 246 had just landed and was now unloading passengers. That was Willow's plain. " Now," Buffy said as she hopped out of her seat and nearly sprinting to the terminal where she would finally see Willow again for the first time in four months.  
  
The flight must have been large, because it seemed they waited through nearly a thousand people, though it was no where near that number, until they finally saw a glimpse of the bright red hair-hopefully with willow attached to it.  
  
She was behind one tall and one extremely large woman, and it was a few moments before they saw all of her. " There she is!" Dawn announced excitedly.  
  
Anya stood up on her toes and looked around, frowning. " I can't see her. The large woman with the ugly hair is obviously serving as a door and not a window because I don't see her at all."  
  
" I do," Xander said calmly. He was smiling for what seemed the first time all summer, and Buffy herself found it hard to resist. She let a grin spread across her face as she finally saw her best friend. Her red hair was longer, shining in the light, and seemed almost fluorescent next to the dark navy shirt she was wearing.  
  
" Willow!" Buffy found herself yelling. She almost didn't recognize her voice when it came out sounding high-pitched and childlike. But she understood where it was coming from: she hadn't been this happy in what seemed like years.  
  
Willow quickly made her way towards them, and only smiled when she stopped in front of her welcoming committee. " Hey, guys. I'm back." She looked close to tears as she was caught in a flurry of arms and wrapped into a big hug. Even Anya seemed ecstatic to see her, and was hugging her with joy.  
  
After their long and friendly hug, and just a few spilled tears that were quickly swiped away, Willow stood back and grinned at them. " Oh, I forgot. I brought you all something." She stood back, looking at the terminal where a few scattered people were still making their way off. And they all were drawn to one lone man, in his early fifties, his salt and pepper hair and thin glasses looking all to familiar and welcome.  
  
" Giles." It was the last thing Buffy said before he too came up to them and they once more swept an old friend into a welcome-home hug. 


	3. The Gang Again

Chapter Three  
  
  
  
The house looked the same as it had when she'd left. Small green bushes lined the ground in front of the wide porch, the swing in the corner of it swaying slightly in the breeze. Every window seemed to have exactly the same amount of light on it, glaring in just the same way as it had when she'd looked at them before. The trees to either side of the house-the big oak that had become a sort of home to Spike in his stalking-Buffy days was just as tall, the leaves the same color, and the smaller one to the other side had not changed either. Nothing was different about the house or the green grass around it, the flowers planted in various spots had remained unchanged, through everything.  
  
Only one thing seemed different, only one thing caught her eye as not fitting in. That was the cement pathway going up to the front steps. It seemed longer, stretching into forever until it just stopped, suddenly at a place where you were expected to stop and exit into something new. Something she didn't think she was ready for. She was going to be returning to that same house, that same room, to sleep in that same bed, and suddenly she almost felt sick.  
  
" Will, you okay?" She snapped her head around, red hair flying in front of her eyes. She smiled weakly at Buffy, who looked concerned and had reached out to put her hand on Willow's shoulder.  
  
" Yeah, Buffy, I'm all right. I'll be fine."  
  
Anya shifted smiling awkwardly. You could tell by looking at her she had something to say, that even she knew wasn't the right thing; but she said it anyway, as always. " It seems to me that if you are going to be fine, the fine part has yet to set in. Seems to be insinuating that you are less than fine."  
  
Willow looked from Anya to Buffy, then to the rest of her friends, than back at the ever ending walk that would lead her back to where she had watched her girlfriend die in her arms. She suddenly realized that no matter how much she, or Giles or anyone else tried to convince her she was okay with this, that she could handle it, Anya was right. She wasn't fine with it.  
  
She opened and closed her mouth in indecision several times, trying to think of what to say, and trying to talk herself out of just turning and running from this whole situation. But the part in her that cared about her friends and wanted to try and move on with her life wouldn't let her.  
  
" I guess it's just hard," Willow finally said aloud. " I know I want to continue and that eventually I will make it in and then on with my life..I have just yet to get to the part where I do.move on."  
  
" Moving forward usually helps," Anya added, in her own mind trying to be helpful.  
  
Willow looked at Anya for a second, then a realization came to her. She's missed Anya. She'd missed the way everything she did seemed to be the wrong thing, the way she said any thought that popped into her mind, thinking that it should be common knowledge. And if she had missed Anya, she knew she'd missed the others.  
  
Xander and his goofy jokes and attempts at making everything seem like it wasn't and couldn't be the end of the world-even when sometimes it actually was about to be. Dawn and her way of wanting to be with people. How she was not complete when she was alone, but always wanted company, companionship. In her own way, she was almost cat-like in her need for affection.  
  
And of course Buffy. Buffy was just Buffy. The Chosen One, the Slayer, the One-Who-Hangs-Out-In-Cemeteries-A-Lot. Buffy was Willow's best friend, the one she had used to go to with all her problems and vice versa. They'd shared everything and she was anxiously awaiting the time when they could do that again.  
  
Only one person wasn't here that she wished she was coming home too. She'd never be here again, and Willow had loved her most of all. She'd been her soul mate, and her friend, and now she wasn't here, and was like she was missing a half. Giles could never help with that. He could talk to her, and counsel her, taking notes and giving suggestions, but he couldn't rebuild the piece of her that had been torn out.  
  
But they helped. Each and every one of them helped. Even if they only took an ounce of the hurt away, or eliminated just one tear, then they were helping them. And she could never tell them what it meant to her.  
  
" Thank you guys. I know you are all trying to help. It's just hard, I guess, hard to be home again, here in good old Sunnydale. Home of demons, Hellmouths, and apocalypses."  
  
" Don't forget Slayers and Keys!" Dawn exclaimed excitedly. She smiled to all, as if she was on cloud nine and they were all joining her there. Willow almost wanted to hug her right there, but she knew if she did, she might start crying again, and she barely had any tears left. She was wondering where the water would come from.  
  
" Ah, yes and newly returned former Watcher," Giles added, smiling at them rather shyly.  
  
" We're so happy to have you both home," Buffy said. " Sunnydale has been incomplete without two of its finer residents."  
  
" Yes, there were nightly town meeting on how to cope with you absence," Xander said with a grin. " It was hard, but after some group hugs and getting in touch with feminine sides we all pulled through, and here you are! Back!" He seemed to have an afterthought and added," Of course, I will miss the cuddling of the voluptuous blonde that usually sat to my left, but you two more than make up for the loss."  
  
Everyone smiled, and before Willow could confirm what was happening, she found herself moving again, being lead by Dawn back up the porch steps, through the big wooden door and then into the Summers living room. She looked around, her eyes taking in everything only to register the inside of the house too remain unchanged. Sunnydale had remained the same even as the people living in it had transformed around it. No one in their once close family of friends was the same as they had been only a year ago.  
  
" Home sweet home." Xander put the suit cases he was carrying down on the floor, grunting as he stood back up. " Someone really should embroider that on something. It has that certain ring to it."  
  
" Yes of course, someone must have been slacking off when they put it on pictures, T-shirts, cushions and pillows. All this time someone should have just 'embroidered it on something.'"  
  
Even Xander smiled at the joke at his expense as they settled into the room, seating themselves on the furniture and then letting silence sink in. Willow was trying to decide if they were all just too nervous to speak or if it was an intentional silence to just enjoy being together again. She was thinking maybe a little bit of both.  
  
Then Buffy broke the silence, either finding courage or having her fill of the moment. " So, are you going to tell us what happened? In England? With the coven and with counseling? If it's uncomfortable to talk about, we.we understand. It's totally fine."  
  
" No," Willow quickly reassured her. " You all are my friends. I can tell you what happened. It wasn't exactly the best summer vacation I've ever taken, I would have much more enjoyed Maui, but I can settle." She smiled slightly has she slipped into to the details of her trip.  
  
She tried to lighten it every once in a while, telling them about the weather or the British inhabitants, but it just seemed to her that she was rambling nervously, so she began to cut back on the flowery parts.  
  
She told them about staying a Giles' house and having talks with him every night, and sleeping most of her days away. Her sleep had been brought on mostly to avoid her thoughts, she told them solemnly. She was thinking every second, none of them ever seeming to be pleasant or just calming. They were always things that made her shake nervously and feel like the room was sinking in on her.  
  
As time went on, her sleep decreased and her thoughts became more pleasant, she could go through long periods of time without one thought of death or pain and she was fine. Not happy, but seemingly at peace with things.  
  
She started opening up more to Giles, she told them. Only a slight blushing glance towards Buffy's former Watcher accompanied this statement. She told them a lot of the things she had told him earlier, about how she had felt when Tara had been killed, about how she had felt when she herself had killed Warren. She also told them of the hate she'd been feeling at the thought of him or mention of his name.  
  
None of what she told them was easy to say, or on their parts easy to listen too. It was entailing most of the pain she'd been feeling over the last few months, and none of it was pretty. Pain rarely was, but it was all things she needed to say. Her friends needed to know what she was thinking and feeling, she was tired of secrets and unspoken truths.  
  
She finally got to the part where Giles had deemed her recovered enough to face the coven, who had been demanding to see her. He had kept her away from it for months, telling them she was barely strong enough to make her way around his home, let alone get out of control with her magic again.  
  
In fact, for over a month after she left Sunnydale, her powers were completely depleted. She was pretty much spent and she took that as yet another blow to her life's purpose and sunk into semi-depression. Or more like full on depression.  
  
But when she finally faced the coven, nothing they said to her helped or made anything better. In point of fact, what they did to her only reinstated her depression for a while. She was face to face with over a dozen older men and women, looking like a council of executioners rather than a coven of wiccans. They discussed what they viewed as her 'case' and decided that the most fitting punishment was for her to be stripped of her powers.  
  
This is when she stopped, catching the looks of her friends and the gasps they let out. Buffy was the first one to overcome this and looked at Giles, " I thought you said she was only banned from practicing?"  
  
Giles shifted uncomfortably as they all turned to look at them and reached up to pull his glasses from off his nose and pulling a white rag from out of the front pocket of his jacket. "Well, yes," Giles said, avoiding eye contact. " I thought it would be better if you didn't know just yet the full extent of Willow's punishment. You see, it was rather a shock to me too, and I didn't know how you'd al react." Giles finally looked up and smiled at Willow. "Besides, I had a feeling that Willow should be the one to tell you."  
  
Willow hesitated before smiling. One of the things he had been doing lately was returning her responsibility. She had been given chores at his house, and decisions that at first he hadn't let her make. And this was just another in a long line to come; and one of the harder ones.  
  
Willow looked back to her friends. " It was horrible. While I knew that I was going to be.that I deserved to be punished for my actions, I guess I was just a little thrown. I mean, who wouldn't be?" Willow stopped to look at her hands, feeling tears sting her eyes. She took a moment to try and let them dry, then looked back up at her friends, all seeming to be having the same problem she was with an onslaught of tears.  
  
" Well, a little scolding, a few light shows, searing pain, and a pat on the back later, I was back at Giles'." Willow smiles at them all, looking happy for the first time. " Free," she said. " For the first time, I felt free. The magic had been there, tempting me and teasing me. It was suddenly gone and not even going to come back no matter how much I wanted it too. The only thing I regretted was not having the chance to fight myself. Just facing it and turning it down. Showing myself I was strong enough."  
  
" Like a fat person with cake?" Anya said, he voice soft. She was a little bit on overload herself, experiencing emotions that she didn't usually welcome, but it was obvious she cared about Willow. Her words and mind just weren't being as soft as her heart was. " Just say no?" Anya added.  
  
Willow smiled nodding. " Exactly. But what they did was smarter. When there is risk for more than just me, it isn't just my decision anymore. So they took my powers away, and then I came home. I missed it. this. You guys. The gang."  
  
" We missed you too, Will." Xander jumped up then and wrapped her into another bear hug. It wasn't long before it seemed everyone was on top of her, squeezing her happily.  
  
" This part I could have lived without. The no air thing," Willow choked out from underneath her friends. They slowly piled off of her, smiling hysterically. " Well, hugging is okay, it's just when you turn blue that you have to admit you're going too far."  
  
They smiled when Dawn, in all innocence, smiling happily and jumping up and down slightly suddenly crushed the mood by asking, " You ready to move back into your old room?"  
  
Willow's heart seemed to stop at the thought. But she knew she had to, she couldn't sleep downstairs forever, and she had to go in the bedroom sometime, face it, if nothing else. She stood slowly, a lump in her throat the size of her fist and looked at the stairs with trepidation.  
  
" All right. Let's go. Get the bags."  
  
Willow and dawn started to make their way to the stairs and behind her she slightly heard Anya say, " Why do I have to carry a bag? It's not like they took her arms when they took her magic."  
  
Giles voice came next," Anya, do try to and be less-you. Take the smaller one."  
  
" There is no smaller one."  
  
That's the last thing Willow heard before tuning out the voices and just walking arm and arm up the stairs with Dawn. 


	4. A Little Learning

Chapter Four: A Little Learning  
  
  
  
  
  
The room was dark, but he could tell that he was in a hall, walking far away from the walls, and that nothing was in his path. The ground was soft to his bare feat, mostly because of the thick layer of dust, and the air smelled slightly musty, as if he was the only living thing to have been in it for a long time. Well, he wasn't exactly living.  
  
In the few days he had spent back in Sunnydale, in his own crypt, with so many memories floating around it, he had felt panic come over him that he couldn't fight. It had driven him out and away, with the few small possessions he owned that he didn't want to part with. He had found the most secluded, darkest place to live. A place that felt like home to him. The sewers under the school.  
  
They had been cleaned out a bit, signally that a few human lives had been here, but the dust had just been moved, not cleaned up. They had cleaned up a bit of the smell though, and killed some of the rats and others creatures living down there. But they hadn't made it safer, they'd just opened it up for more dangerous things.  
  
In the past few days of being there, he had killed more demons than he had all summer. And unlike the sense of pride and accomplishment it had used to give him, this time, Spike only felt like he was repaying something. He felt like the good that he did, in some way, compensated for the bad that the demon in him had done.  
  
There was one thing, however, he somehow knew that could never be righted, not by extinguishing all the demons in the world; not by ridding the Earth of every last evil on it. The only good that he wanted to do for a particular reason, he could never do in this sewer. But this was where he felt safe, where he felt normal. With her he always felt like he was wrong, unworthy.  
  
More than ever, she seemed like some sort of angel that opened up to a monster. The best gift he could have ever asked for had been granted to him, and just like an overexcited child with a toy, he had broken it. He had closed off any feelings she would ever have for him, and in turn, he had destroyed what he was.  
  
He didn't know weather to be pleased or saddened by his new transformation, didn't know if having feelings and a conscious was something good, or just another road block in his path to evil. But that indecision was because he didn't know what he wanted to be, who he wanted to fight for: good or evil.  
  
Spike knew he would always be a warrior, it was what he was there for. Not to be some love-struck poet or a slave to his emotions, but a fighter. Weather it be good or evil that he ended up fighting for, if he was just standing on the sidelines, he knew he would never be satisfied.  
  
But it used to be so simple. He was a demon, he didn't have a soul, he had to be evil. But then like a wild dog, he was caged and tamed. He fell in love, just like a pet does with its owner, and he had changed. He then had a new thing pulling him: love for someone good had made him want to be good.  
  
Spike ducked through the opening in the brick wall, and turned to his left. In the dark, he fumbled around with the items on top of a table, and then lit up a match. The room was suddenly illuminated, and he looked around at it.  
  
In the corner he had a few scattered blankets piled atop each other, far away from any of the wetness on the floor. He had three candles about the room and he had a few books in the corner. He had an old desk that he had found on the side of the road. It had a single drawer, and the only content in it was a single picture. A picture of the woman that made him want to fight evil, instead of fight for it.  
  
He had tried so hard in the beginning not to care for her, tried to convince himself that what he felt was just an obsession. He had been caged, and he was growing fixated rather than developing feelings. But the human left in him argued that he wasn't meant for evil, that this was a sign he was to be more.  
  
Too many emotions had nearly driven him crazy. He finally snapped, and when he did, he turned on the last person he would have ever wanted to hurt. Hurting her hurt him as much as it did her. He had wanted to go and comfort her, but he had to remind himself it was his fault she was in pain at all. That's when his little trip came.  
  
Like all his decisions before, he didn't know why he was going. He knew it was to find an answer, which side to turn to, how to spend the rest of his existence. It had been good or evil all along, but when he got there, when he was finally faced with which he wanted, he learned neither of those questions mattered. The question was did he want her, and the answer was yes. And she needed, she deserved, to have only good in her life, and that would be all he'd be for her.  
  
But now he didn't know any more. He knew he loved Buffy, and that he wanted her, but he didn't know if he was capable of being what she needed. For the first time, it was more about her than it was about him. He had been selfish before but he had a new outlook now.  
  
As he thought about all of this, the demon in him had to chuckle. He sounded like a lovesick sap, just the very thing he never wanted to be. It made half of him sick, while the other half just admitted the truth. He was lovesick. And he didn't know what to do about it.  
  
  
  
  
  
" Need any help?"  
  
Willow glanced up to see Buffy in the doorway, smiling at her. She had missed that smile so much; the smile of her best friend, caring for her for no reason.  
  
" Oh, Buffy, most of the packing done, but you can pick up something and carry it around a lot, just so passers by will think you're helping?"  
  
Buffy smiled wider, letting out a little chuckle. She reached down into the last box Willow was unloading and pulled out a small ceramic figure of a cat. It was a gift Buffy had given Willow for her 18th birthday, it was one of Willow's favorites. Buffy walked over and sat it on the dresser.  
  
" Weird to be back?" she asked, feeling that these sort of questions were inevitable.  
  
Willow smiled faintly as she folded a shirt and put it in a drawer. " Oh yeah, weird in the frightening and nerve-wracking sense." Willow sighed and sat down next to Buffy on her bed, used to spilling her feelings after a summer of doing just that with Giles. " I just don't know about the room, I thought it would scare me and make me feel that sinking feeling again..but it doesn't. It feels like a room. A place to sleep, get dressed, put on makeup. Not a place where you." Willow let her sentence trail off, still finding many things hard to say.  
  
" Will, I know it's hard. My mom, she.she was here. On the couch, in the living room. I didn't think I'd want to go back in there. But you learn that it isn't the room that you don't like, it's the memories. They open up wounds. But as soon as your cuts heal, it's all better again. Or at least, it gets easier."  
  
" Yeah, I hope." Willow looked down at her hands, watching them just lay in her lap.  
  
Buffy reached out and put her hand on Willow's shoulder. " Willow, I wouldn't lie to you about something like this. I know last year was just sort of our web-of-lies extravaganza, but this is too.personal to be something that I wouldn't give you an honest answer. With all things, it just takes a little time."  
  
Willow looked up at Buffy, her green eyes filled with tears. " I know Buffy. When Oz left, after time I moved on. Even before Tara, it got easier eventually. But it's the pain you have to go through before it gets easier that makes it so hard. I just want it to stop, you know? For the time to have passed and it to be easier already."  
  
" I know." Buffy didn't know what else to say. She understood Willow's pain, she had lived through it several times. She had dealt with it in many different ways, and each had gotten her through it in the end. But she couldn't have done it without her friends, so she suddenly decided that no matter what, all she was going to be was a friend for Willow, just one big barrel of support.  
  
" You know I'm here for you, Will. Whatever it is, whenever you need me, I'll always be here for you."  
  
Buffy reached out and wrapped her arms around Willow, pulling her into a hug. She knew it was the only thing that was really going to help, rather than a lot of words that would undoubtedly just bounce off of Willow's emotional shield. Contact was something that Willow could feel and know was going to be there for her.  
  
" Hey, there are group hugs going on without me?" Xander asked, coming through the door. Willow and Buffy both quickly wiped their tears away and smiled up at him.  
  
" Well then join in the embracing- thing, Xan Man," Buffy said with a smile. Xander happily squeezed himself down on the bed between them and wrapped an arm around each.  
  
" Ah, this is the way life should be.me, squeezed in between to beautiful girls. Life is kind to the one and only Xan Man."  
  
They all smiled to that, glad that someone felt that life was being kind. " Share some of that enthusiasm over here please?" Willow asked.  
  
" Of course." Xander's solution to this was to put both arms around Willow and squeeze her tightly.  
  
" I said share enthusiasm, not upper arm strength," Willow groaned.  
  
" Oh, sorry. A little over-zealous there. But that's enthusiasm at its greatest!"  
  
" I like it better when enthusiasm isn't crushing my ribs."  
  
This got another grin from the three, and they all spent the next hour talking, lounging on Willow's bed, discussing everything that came into their minds, lapsing into group hugs now and again, and finally getting so tired, the three fell asleep right next to each other.  
  
  
  
  
  
Dawn eased her door open slowly, not making a sound with her soft tennis shoes on the carpeted floor. She walked past Willow's room soundlessly, looking in to see Willow, Buffy and Xander all still fast asleep, their heads each leaning on another's stomach, happily cat-napping.  
  
Dawn smiled at this, loving the feeling she got to see them all together again. It had been too long, and too much pain and stress on everyone. With those three together again, being friends again, she knew that things would be better, save the occasional appearance of a demon.  
  
Dawn walked down the stairs slowly, letting her footsteps lightly touch the floor. Not single creak echoed through the house as she made her was to the closet, got her coat, and then slowly went back to the door to turn the knob slowly and carefully, not making a sound.  
  
" Going somewhere?" A soft British voice came from the living room, and Dawn squealed and in shock and nearly tripped down the stairs. She caught herself at the last moment and looked up to see Giles sitting on their couch, reading a book.  
  
Dawn sighed and rolled her eyes, her heart still beating a bit fast. " Lurking? Not very British of you-aren't they usually a little more respectful of privacy?"  
  
Giles raised his brow at her over his glasses. " Oh, I wasn't lurking. I was reading, you know, opening a book and looking at the words on the page to get a mental picture. And I wasn't intruded on privacy, this is where I am to sleep for the next week or so, you were the one barging in on me. Albeit, quietly."  
  
Dawn shrugged in shame, and walked the rest of the way over to Giles, to sit next to him as he lied his book down. Giles looked at her, a stern, fatherly looked creasing his face. " Was there somewhere you were going? Or were you sneaking to the door at 8:00 at night for some other reason?"  
  
" Well.it is good exercise.walking." Dawn sighed at the own lameness in her lie. " Okay, I was maybe.going to meet a friend in the park."  
  
Giles looked at seriously, his voice going lower and more concerned. " Dawn, I thought we'd broken you of this habit. Buffy informed me your stealing had gotten under control, and that you didn't try and sneak out anymore. Now here you are.sneaking out. You know, it really leaves me to believe that you lied when you said you didn't do it anymore."  
  
" I know, but it's not what you think. I'm not off to do any of the delinquency that I---know other people my age do," Dawn corrected herself quickly. " I was just off to meet a friend at the park, we were going to study."  
  
" Study? In the dark? Outdoors? In Sunnydale?" Giles removed his glasses from his face, a sure sign that something was bothering him. He looked at Dawn as if she had told him she'd seen a ghost-and no one else had ever said that to him. " Dawn, have you not lived here for seven years? You do know the kinds of things that live here, do you not?"  
  
" Oh, I know; but she drives. We were going to sit in the car with the lights on, listen to some music, and try and do math." Dawn looked everyone in the room but at Giles, suddenly realizing how bad that sounded. " Okay, maybe not the best plan, but hey, whoever said teenagers were the smartest breed of man?"  
  
Giles smiled slightly, slipping his glasses back onto his face. " And I take it Buffy knows nothing of your little get together in the park? Does she even know you're.study partner?"  
  
" Oh yeah! They met. Bianca was here a few nights back. I think Buffy liked her.Bianca said she thought Buffy was cool.which is so way out there. But yeah, they know each other. See! Not some teenage boy with raging hormones that I'm off to.do things with. Just a girl." Dawn's eyes widened a second later as she realized how that sounded. " That I'm not going to be doing anything with..except studying," she added.  
  
" Dawn, this is very unsafe behavior. There are many other much better places to study. If you have homework and want to do it with this.Bianca, then bring her back here, you can work in a home, with a Slayer on hand."  
  
Dawn sighed. " She's probably already at the park. I can't call her now." Dawn smiled and looked up at Giles. " Can you drive me there? We can tell her to come back here!"  
  
Giles looked back over at the clock and then nodded. " Yes, let's go. We'll be quick about it, hopefully be back before they wake up." Giles looked up the stairs as they walked to the door.  
  
Dawn smiled, following his gaze. " It's nice, huh? Having them back to normal."  
  
Giles nodded, not smiling. He seemed happy, but at the same time there was an expression on his face that she didn't recognize. Then he opened the door and Dawn bounded down the steps and out to his car. They sped to the park, pulling up next to Bianca's car.  
  
" I'll be right back. She said she'd meet me over by the swings, it'll just take a sec."  
  
Giles nodded to her as Dawn hopped out of the car and walked through a few scattered trees to the playground equipment. She looked around, seeing no one. She debated weather or not to call out, but then she discovered she didn't have too.  
  
A soft scream came from the distance, and then the sound of a struggle. Dawn took only a second to scream for Giles before running towards the noise as quickly as she could. She only had to run for less than a minute before she came upon a few headstones, signally the beginning of a graveyard.  
  
She looked around for a moment before noticing movement to her right. She automatically noticed Bianca's bright red hair and red shirt. She was being attacked from two sides by two large demons with horns protruding from their heads. Dawn looked around for a weapon, but seeing nothing but tombstones panicked.  
  
She could barely fight herself, let alone without a weapon. If she ran over to Bianca to help she would most likely be killed, along with her friend. If she waited for Giles to come, Bianca might already be dead by then.  
  
Suddenly, one of the demons lunged at Bianca, who had just managed to barely fight them off with a large stick. They fell to the ground, blocked by a mausoleum so Dawn could no longer see them. The other demon too quickly disappeared, when Dawn made a decision to test her luck. She couldn't just let Bianca die.  
  
She ran as hard as she could in their direction, still hearing the fight from out of her line of sight. She was just barely around the side of the small building when something stopped her, pulling her backwards where she landed on her back. She was suddenly grabbed and pulled to her feet to come face to face with one of the demons. Her eyes widened as he grinned at her, revealing a row of sharp teeth.  
  
She yelled and tried to pull out of his grip, using some of the defense moves Buffy had taught her. But he was too strong, she wasn't budging from his grasp. He started to drag her along when suddenly she was grabbed from behind again and went flying backwards. She landed hard, hitting her head on the ground.  
  
Her vision spun and her hearing fluttered, but she could make out the noise of fighting and see two bodies moving slightly. There was yelling, and then suddenly, silence. The sound of footsteps came to her in her semi- consciousness and she looked up. She could just barely make out the figure of a person, she was sure of this because it was too small to be anything else. It had light coloring but other than that, she had no idea. Then a British voice came to her, asking, " Are you all right?"  
  
Dawn closed her eyes. " Yeah, Giles, I'm fine."  
  
There was more silence, when the sound of running footsteps came, then heavy breathing. Dawn opened her eyes to see a clear view of Giles leaning over her, his face worried. Then he asked again, "Dawn, dear Lord, are you all right?"  
  
Dawn looked at him confused, but nodded. " Yeah, Giles, I already said, I'm fine." Dawn put her hand to her head when it spun as result of shaking it back and forth. Giles looked at her confused, when she suddenly realized something. " Oh my God! Bianca! Is she okay?"  
  
Giles looked around before running off a little ways. He came back, supporting Bianca under her arms, helping her walk. He sat her down next to Dawn and Dawn turned to look at her. " Oh, are you okay?" she asked her friend right away.  
  
Bianca looked completely bewildered, but otherwise unharmed. " Yeah, I'm cool. But these two big guys jumped me.they must have been wearing costumes or something. They had horns." Bianca looked at the two before shrugging. " Totally fake."  
  
Giles and Dawn quickly jumped in to agree with her. " Yeah, they were obviously just young hoodlums, but they might come back."  
  
" Yeah, with friends," Dawn added.  
  
" Yes," Giles agreed, hurrying both girls to their feet. " In which case we should get home quickly, before they return."  
  
Giles cast a troubled glance behind him as he ushered the girls through the graveyard and back towards his car, wanting to get them safely away before any more " hoodlums" jumped out at them. He didn't know why they'd left the first time, but he didn't want to wait and see if they came back.  
  
  
  
  
  
Spike watched them as they walked away, one girl on each side of Giles as he supported them. They walked very slowly, but every once in a while, Giles cast a look behind him, and Spike could just see his eyes wandering over to the shadows where Spike stood secluded in the trees.  
  
He had just been making his way back to the school after stopping at the local butcher. It was one thing that hadn't changed, even after his change. Before, when he couldn't kill humans thanks to something else deciding, he had to get his blood from another source. Now when he had made the choice on his own, he still had to get his blood from the same source. No matter how human his thoughts were, his heart still wasn't beating.  
  
Another thing that hadn't changed: caring about Dawn. He had heard the other girl scream, and out of some new impulse, had run to see what it was. He'd seen her being attacked, but hadn't run to help her right away. Mostly, because he wanted to see if Buffy would come out of nowhere to help first, and secondly because the girl had been doing pretty well on her own.  
  
Then he'd seen Dawn off in the distance, coming running out. At first he had thought she was Buffy, then he got a better looked. It amazed how much more she had grown to be like her sister in just one summer. It hadn't taken long for her to rush to the girl's rescue.  
  
But when he saw that Dawn was in trouble, he immediately gave up his hiding place to run to her aide. He was about to kill the demons, when the girl blew some sort of whistle around her neck. Another demon, different than the others came running from the trees. He quickly clobbered the demons with the club in his hand and dragged them off.  
  
Spike hadn't taken long to think over this, too concerned about Dawn, who had hit her head when he pushed her out of the way. He asked her how she was, and he called her Giles. That's when he heard footsteps, and Giles was running towards them. Spike fled to the bushes, and that's where he was now.  
  
He watched them disappear out of sight, still wondering about the girl. When the demons had been attacked, she'd been fine, but then she had been injured and confused when Giles went to get her. Not only that, her fighting skills were above normal for a teenage girl, and she hadn't seemed too frightened over the appearance of monsters.  
  
All Spike could think was that this friend that Dawn knew was more than she appeared. Much more, and Spike was going to stay close, because no amount of change would make him stop caring for the Summers women. 


End file.
